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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-28-2007 10:48 AM

hellosailor

Cpaul, good idea, if nothing else the Valiant factory might know who specializes in brokering them, which could make for an easier sale. Apparently most of the interiors were semi-custom if requested, so if the factory can give you layout plans for that particular boat, or tell you what any of the custom options were--that's going to make it easier to sell. Well worth a call.

From the PS review they mention blistering up to 1984 but also that there's a question about whether it was the resin, or something about the layup which varied with each hull. Either way, an inspection issue but not a stopper.

Apparently Continental flies from the US (Newark NJ) directly to the DR, when they're not busy keeping folks on the runway for six hours. Most of the other carriers do a Miami-San Juan PR- DR run or something similar requiring 2-3 aircraft changes though. (Continental, UGH.)

What Cam says about the fuel tanks is dead on. Crud in the fuel tank can ruin your day, not to mention, ruin a sea trial. Since the boat may be sitting for weeks or months once it has been put on sale, make sure the tanks are filled and storage additive is put in them--to keep the tanks clean.

These days, I think a full fuel tank is probably a real bonus on a boat, it's like playing the futures market and we all know that's only going one way with diesel.

06-28-2007 10:08 AM

cardiacpaul

give the folks at valiant a call, i'm pretty sure they'd give you a run down on anything they may know about that particular boat.

if you need the # pm me

06-28-2007 07:28 AM

camaraderie

Cloggie...EBay is the #2 seller of boats now. Given your situation that might beworth a try. HelloSailor is correct about blister boats and your boat is probably one of them...if not already dealt with and corrected:

"Sometime during the Uniflite operation, between hull numbers 120 and 249, resin mixtures were changed to include a fire-retardant additive. Although conclusive proof was never established, there was a high correlation between the fire-retardant additive and the blisters that later developed on boats between those hull numbers. Blisters developed on most (but not all) of the boats produced between 1976 and 1981. Lots of those “blister” boats are out there with happy owners. Blistered boats represent great dollar value, but may also require costly repairs."

Thinking about your situation...is the boat in Luperon? You will proably be a lot better off if you can get it somewhere that has decent access to parts/repairs and is easier for people to come look at her. There is no easy way to the DR and no way to inspect a boat and have her properly surveyed there. My immediate instinct is to get her to Tortola but that is a lot of windward work for a boat that has been sitting and is in unknown condition especially with regard to engine and fuel. You might be better off bringing her into the Bahamas on a nice reach for work...perhaps Georgetown or Marsh Harbor. Before leaving the DR...the fuel tanks should be thoroughly drained cleaned and fuel polished and filters replaced and engines tested offshore in advance of departure date as this is where most boats that have been sitting in the tropics come to grief.
Good luck!

06-27-2007 10:59 PM

cloggieboots

That is exactly how we think about it, we much rather see an honest boat, you know what you get and what can be done than not knowing what is underneath the 'new'. With this boat of this age I tend to think ; if nothing has happend yet, it ain't going to happen anymore
I'm planning to take her into clear water and take a look. wood, new upholstery and polishing is being worked on and with my test sail I'm planning to check all equipment, shouldn't be a problem I think cause he was 72 and didn't want to be caught out crossing from Venezuela to here.

Thanks for the tip of time limit, that would not have crossed my mind at all and I'll arrange for a speedboat from which pictures can be taken while under sail. Thanks for all those wonderful tips !!

CB

06-27-2007 10:34 PM

hellosailor

Apparently quite a wide variation in asking prices, way more than I would have expected just based on equipment and condition variations.

Bringing it into the US would also bring you a time limit: You'd need a US cruising permit for the foreign yacht, they expire after 12 months and the yacht must leave the country again to get it renewed. So if there is any refitting that can be done at a good yard en route...maybe that can be used to make sure the work is done outside of your year. Or, you might keep the boat in Annapolis and if necessary, sail it out to the Bahamas in the spring then re-import it into Florida in the early spring, pre-hurricane season.
You'd certainly want to get some photos of condition and detailed equipment lists to discuss how quickly it might or might sell, vs selling price, with someone more familiar with the boat.

"So you all don't think the boat is privately saleable through the internet, even for a very good price?" EVERYTHING can be sold. For a boat in the DR, you've got to make it attractive enough for a buyer to fly down--and accurate enough not to disappoint them. That means a good cleaning and prep, great photos, and accurate equipment list. And, figuring out how those widely varying prices figure in.

IIRC there was some question about resins used in the hulls, and boats from certain years are known to have no blistering problems while others have big problems, so you'd want to verify that and make sure the prospective buyer isn't surprised by a hull survey. And, possibly *not* do any work to the bottom, so they can see the shape it is in now, as opposed to just seeing a blank new bottom job.

Do the daughters know anything about boats? Or have any expectation about value? Is it perhaps at a yacht club, where there are resources who might be of some help?

06-27-2007 10:25 PM

cloggieboots

Thank you

Thank you Hellosailor for all your advice and suggestions. My gut feeling says that the daughters will feel at ease with your idea of the Dutch Islands and the boat is virtually also out of hurricane danger there. Just need to find somebody who will take care of it there. I've heard a mooring there is around 1200 dollars a year. And maybe there are brokers there, much more sailing activity there.

And thank you Sailingdog. That's the problem, not really any resources available.

So you all don't think the boat is privately saleable through the internet, even for a very good price?

Kind Regards,

CB

06-27-2007 09:57 PM

sailingdog

If you have the resources to move the boat, it might make sense to move it to an area where you will have higher traffic and sales potential. The Chesapeake is probably a good area to move it to, since it is fairly safe from hurricanes, and has a lot of sailboats for sale in the region, with many more buyers than Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic.

06-27-2007 01:48 PM

hellosailor

CB-
Is there a better market in any of the Dutch islands? It might be simpler to keep the sale in a Dutch territory, where the authorities are familiar with what will need to be done, then to bring it to the US, where you might get into extra complications reflagging the boat. (Although as I recall, a Valiant was built here in Texas so as long as you have the builder's certificate or other good paperwork, that would be no problem.)

Right now coming north into Florida's Gold Coast market could be a problem since hurricance season is formally open and insuring the boat in that area is problematic. I have no idea how the boat trade goes in the various islands, Puerto Rico might be a good idea, or might be of no advantage, considering it is still a smaller market than the US mainland and still enjoys hurricane season.

North of Florida...there's always Annapolis, a huge market and above hurricane problems. Possibly something in Texas...but getting the boat to a large market AND out of hurricane range, during this sales season instead of over the winter, might be of value.

Needless to say, for any long trip like that, you might have to bring down crew expecting them to do some repairs and refitting before they can sail it away. A bit of an undertaking no matter how you look at it, but Valiant is a good name and I think you'd find buyers in the US without any problem. (Except the usual problem, agreeing to a price.)

Perhaps it would be worth getting a referral to a couple of brokers in Annapolis, and asking their opinion and interest? If you can find someone who "specializes" in Valiant sales, they may even have a customer waiting who would fly down to the DR to check it out. Easier to pay a brokerage fee than to transport a boat!

06-26-2007 11:46 PM

cloggieboots

Hi Hellosailor,

Thank you for taking the time to answer.

The boat is a Valiant 40 from 1979, She carries the Dutch flag (The Netherlands) and is registered in The Netherlands. The title is in the name of the owner and his daughter. I have court papers empowering the daughter to sell the boat and she has given me the power of attorney to sell the boat for her (them). I run the paperwork by the Embassy of the Netherlands here in the Dominican Republic (I am Dutch too and I was contacted by my Embassy to see if I could and would help in this sad situation) and they oke'd the paperwork for me. So........ This is the story in short. There is no market in the D.R. for sailboats at all, the people who can afford a boat, they all want powerboats and buy them in The USA

Thanks again

CB

06-26-2007 01:18 PM

hellosailor

CB-
The answers would demand on:
Where is the boat registered? Flagged? Titled? In who's name, the deceased?

Depending on jurisdictions, in order to sell it the title/registration may not be able to be "simply" transferred, but either executed by the estate (probably requiring a lawyer/notary/etc) or transferred to someone else who can then effect a simpler transfer.

You need to find out the legalities of the ownership, and the governing venue. And then move forward from there. If the market for boats of that type is slow and poor in the DR, then you would probably be better off putting on a crew and sailing it to a better market, where a broker could take care of the entire process--once he was given the correct paperwork to enable that.

So, what are the particulars of the boat, and all that paperwork?

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